


Chaos

by juicytree21



Series: Victory and Chaos [4]
Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Kissing, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Resurrection, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-14 15:45:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 9,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9190178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juicytree21/pseuds/juicytree21
Summary: "What do you mean?" Wash asked."I mean one of the AI's is evil, dude." Tucker said."I don't understand why one of them would be evil. Epsilon was a jerk but he wasn't evil.""No, but he had memories of evil. Memories that one of the new AI's stole. He stole memories of Maine, Wash. Specifically the Meta. Which means...""He's trying to recreate it."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the last story so please go read the first three stories in this series before this one. I wasn't originally going to go in this direction but I dreamt of this last night and decided to go with it. I hope you enjoy this.

Tucker couldn't breathe. He wasn't choking or anything, he was just exhausted after an hour long workout. Wash had been running him through the wringer since the army had more free time.

 

So whenever he wasn't training his privates, Wash was demanding another 15 pushups. He knew he was buffing up and losing fat but he was constantly sore. And not in the good way.

 

So that's why he was laying flat on his back in the training room, pouring water on his face. Wash stood over him with his hands on his hips and a frown on his face.

 

“You only did 87 pushups, Tucker.”

 

“That's 88 more than I wanted to do.” Wash rolled his eyes and offered his hand to his panting boyfriend.

 

“Get up.” He pulled Tucker up and handed him a towel.

 

“God, I fucking hate exercise.” 

 

“I'm aware.” He patted his face dry and took a proper drink of water. He chugged the remainder of his canteen and sat down on one of the crates pressed up against the wall.

 

“You're like a fucking machine, dude. 200 pushups without even sweating. How do you do it?”

 

“Years of training and dedication. That and the fact that I turn on my cooling unit.” Tucker gaped at him. 

 

“You said I'm not allowed to turn mine on when I'm working out.”

 

“Well I assumed you just did it anyways.” Tucker moved to punch Wash in the gut but the soldier just deflected the blow and walked away.

 

“This isn't over David!” 

 

“Yes it is.” He walked out of the room and Tucker pulled his helmet off.

 

“That's why I avoid the training room when Wash is here. He'd just force me to join.” Tucker looked up to see Grif walking towards him, a snack cake in one hand and a water bottle in the other. 

 

“He'd hunt me down and force me to. I can't escape. It's torture.”

 

“Break up with him. He'll probably avoid you for a while.” Tucker glared at Grif.

 

“Shut up.”

 

“So how's paradise? Is it as glorious as they make it out to be in the movies?” 

 

“A movie will never portray love accurately, dude.” Grif’s eyebrows raised.

 

“Oh so you love Wash?” 

 

“If you tell him, I'll kick your ass.”

 

Tucker grabbed his helmet and stood up. He picked up his discarded towel and canteen. 

 

“Speaking of love, what's up with you and Simmons?” Grif smirked.

 

“I don't know what you're talking about.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Sarge isn't going to be happy about this.” Simmons said nervously. Grif turned to look at him and frowned.

 

“Who gives a shit? Are you seriously gonna let him hold you by the balls for the rest of your life?” Simmons took a deep breath and shook his head.

 

“Hell no.” 

 

“Good.”

 

They entered the mess hall side-by-side but not touching. Simmons could see Sarge at their regular table listening Donut who was waving his hands around wildly. He looked bored and seemed to perk up when he noticed Simmons. He waved Simmons over and Grif nudged him towards the table. 

 

“I'll get your food.” 

 

Simmons walked over to the table and sat down next to Donut. 

 

“Thank God you're here. I don't think I could listen to Donut talk about candles anymore.

 

“I think candles are great. Sorry that I bored you with my passion.” He turned his nose up and Simmons snorted.

 

“I've been needin’ to speak to you for a while. I was wonderin’ if I could store some dynamite under your bed?”

 

“Oh hell no. Knowing his luck, it'll explode while he's sleeping.” Grif said, putting Simmons’ food in front of him. 

 

“Nobody asked for your two cents, moron.” Sarge looked smug for a moment before he realized that Simmons wasn't going to chip in a, “ _good one, sir._ ”

 

“Simmons, what are you doing?” Simmons had his sandwich halfway to mouth before he froze.

 

“Um, I'm eating?”

 

“Why aren't you backing me up?” 

 

“Because...I don't agree with you.” He took a bite of his sandwich, ignoring the stare that everybody at the table was giving him. 

 

“What?!” Sarge yelled. 

 

“You heard him.” Grif said, with a smile.

 

“Shut up, moron.”

 

“Stop insulting him.” Simmons said, pushing his food away.

 

“Why the hell are you talking back to me?” Sarge demanded.

 

“Because you're an asshole!” The mess hall fell quiet and everybody turned to look at Simmons who had stood up and was looming over Sarge. The older man stood up and glared at Simmons before he stormed out of the room. 

 

Simmons sat back down and ignored the chatter around the room. He angrily bit into his sandwich and he felt Grif put a hand on his knee.

 

“Not bad.”

 

Donut gasped and Simmons looked at the blond who had a hand over his mouth. He pointed at Grif’s hand on his knee and squealed.

 

“Oh my God! It finally happened! Does Tucker know?” 

 

“We haven't told anyone yet.” Simmons said softly.

 

“Oh wow! I won't tell a soul!” He zipped his lips and smiled at them.

 

“Go ahead. We don't care.” Simmons said before standing and leaving the mess hall.


	3. Chapter 3

Wash entered Tucker’s room, his datapad open in one hand and two apples in the other. He threw the apples on the bed and plopped down on the bed. His pad dinged and looked down at the message.

 

**Hey man, have you seen Tucker? Vanessa said they have a meeting scheduled and he didn't show up.**

 

**Vanessa? ;)**

 

**Shut up and find your boyfriend**

 

He put his datapad down and left the room. There were a few people milling around the hallways and he walked up to Andersmith who was looking at his own datapad.

 

“Lieutenant Andersmith.” He closed his datapad and looked up.

 

“Yes, sir?” 

 

“Have you seen Captain Tucker?” He shook his head. 

 

“I'm sorry. Perhaps you should speak to Palomo. He has a habit of...knowing where he is. At all times.”

 

“You mean stalking?” He shrugged and Wash nodded.

 

“Thanks.”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

 

He found Palomo in the mess hall, talking to Ohio, Idaho, and Iowa. He knew he was probably spinning some fake tale about the wonderful inspiring things that he's done on missions with Tucker. Wash sighed and stood behind the other freelancers with his arms crossed.

 

“And he grabbed me and said, “Palomo, you done good kid. You done good.” It still brings me to tears.”

 

“You're never gonna tell the truth when you tell that story, are you?” Palomo looked at Wash and his face flushed pink.

 

“Uhh, sorry?”

 

“Whatever. Do you know where Tucker is?” 

 

“Oh that's the guy from the story right?” Iowa asked loudly.

 

“Iowa, you've met him. Multiple times.” Ohio said, clearly annoyed.

 

“Oh yeah...what were we talking about?” Ohio sighed and turned to Idaho.

 

“Let's go get some grub.”

 

“Oooh, five bugs you think would taste bad but actually taste pretty good!” Iowa said excitedly.

 

“Gnat.”

 

“One!” The three freelancers left the room playing their game and Wash turned back to Palomo.

 

“Well? Where is he?”

 

“Garage.” Wash nodded and turned to leave. He stopped in the doorway and looked back at Palomo.

 

“Oh and Charles?” Palomo looked at him, fear in his eyes.

 

“If you keep stalking my boyfriend around the base, I'll kick your ass.” He gulped and nodded.

 

“I u-understand, Agent Washington.”

 

“Good.”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

 

When Wash entered the garage, he immediately noticed Tucker sitting in the driver's seat of one of the warthogs, his head leaning on his shoulder. 

 

“Taking after Grif and sleeping on the job? Smooth move Lavernius.” He tapped Tucker’s shoulder. When he didn't move, Wash shook him harder. 

 

“Come on, Tucker. There are a bunch of hot naked girls hosing off outside. Go check them out or something.” He said jokingly. Tucker didn't stir and his brow furrowed. 

 

“Tucker? Tucker!” He shook him again and when he didn't wake up, his heart began racing.

 

“I need help in here!”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

 

Emily was shining her pen light in Tucker's eye and frowning. She clicked the light off and scribbled something down on her notepad. She stood and pursed her lips.

 

“He's unresponsive. There seems to be nothing physically wrong with him though. In my professional opinion, this looks like some sort of catatonic state. But those are usually brought on by extreme stress or a traumatic event.” Kimball put her hands on her hips.

 

“What the hell caused this then? People don't just slip into shock.” 

 

“I'll continue to monitor him but that's the best I can do for now.” Kimball nodded and looked at Wash who was standing off to the side, an intense look on his face.

 

“He's going to be fine, Agent Washington.” 

 

“You don't know that.”

 

“Well negativity isn't going to help him get better.” He scoffed. 

 

“And the power of positive thinking will?” She bit her lip.

 

“Keep me updated on his condition, Dr. Grey.” Grey nodded and Kimball left the room. 

 

Emily looked at Wash and frowned. 

 

“Don't you worry Wash. I'll have him fixed up in no time. I just have to run some tests!” He nodded and she left the room.

 

He looked back at Tucker who looked like he was only sleeping peacefully. Wash grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. He kissed the back of his hand and took a deep breath.

 

“Please wake up.”


	4. Chapter 4

Tucker opened his eyes slowly and quickly squeezed them shut when a bright white light blinded him. He pushed himself up off of the hard surface he was laying on and opened his eyes again. He didn't recognize the room and he panicked.

 

“Hello?” His voice echoed throughout the large space and he climbed to his feet.

 

“Hello? Can someone tell me where I'm at?” 

 

Tucker’s voice reverberated off of the large structures throughout the room. It vaguely reminded him of a laser tag place. He frowned and wandered around a bit. 

 

“Tucker? Is that you?” He looked up to see Ahsa walking towards him. 

 

“Ahsa? What the hell is going in? Where am I? And why are you so...tall?” She shrugged and stopped right in front of him. 

 

She was no longer a small purple figure but instead she stood up to his chest and had long black hair and her dark brown skin was almost the same color as his. She was attractive...for a computer program.

 

“I can hear your thoughts, you know.” He grimaced.

 

“Am I dead?” She scoffed.

 

“You're an idiot. You're not dead, you're unconscious. This is what the inside of your mind looks like. Like a laser tag arena.” She pursed her lips and he grinned.

 

“Awesome. Wait,” He said, his smile turning into a frown. “why am I unconscious?”

 

“I have no idea. Something is going on with the new AI. He's waking up. That must be what knocked you out.” 

 

“I guess that makes sense. I passed out when Eis showed up.” He heard a thump and turned around to see Simmons behind him. 

 

“Simmons? What the hell are you doing here?” 

 

“Did you know that Wolverine is married to Hercules in one of Marvel comics multiple universes? I think it's interesting that…” Tucker tuned him out and turned back to face Ahsa.

 

“What's happening?” 

 

“That's not really Simmons. That's how you're subconscious perceives him.” He smiled.

 

“Wait, can I see the others too?” She shrugged.

 

“It's your mind, not mine.”

 

Tucker closed his eyes and concentrated on his friends. He pictured dozens of people and finally opened his eyes after a minute. There were about 16 people in front of him and he gaped.

 

“Holy shit! Is that fucking Felix?” Felix cocked his gun and put his hand on his hip.

 

“I'm insecure about my life and I'm secretly in love with-slash-terrified of Locus.” 

 

“Food, sex, cigarettes, and Simmons are the only thing I care about. I'm super gay for Dick...Simmons.” Grif piped up. 

 

“You're all idiots and I hate you. Except Tucker. He's amazing.” Carolina mumbled, her arms folded across her chest 

 

“Do you just picture everybody secretly in love with you?” Ahsa asked dryly.

 

“How could you not love all of this?” He said with a sweeping motion down his side.

 

“I definitely love it. And the only reason I was a jerk to you in Valhalla was because I had such an insecure, raging boner for you. I didn't know how to process my feelings so instead I forced you to do pushups until your nippls were bloody and chafed.” Tucker snorted and turned to look at Wash who was wearing his old blue armor.

 

“That's fucking hilarious.” 

 

Before he could talk to the other figments, they vanished into thin air. He furrowed his brow and turned back to Ahsa. She looked confused and worried.

 

“Why'd you get rid of them?” He shook his head.

 

“I didn't.” 

 

“I did.” 

 

Tucker froze at the sound of the familiar voice and he felt his chest grow tight. He turned to see a figure standing in the doorway, backlit from the light behind him. The figure stepped further until the room into Tucker could see his fair skin, black hair, and blue eyes. 

 

“Church?” 

 

“Miss me, asshole?”


	5. Chapter 5

Tucker stood there in shock for a moment before rushing towards Church. Church put up his hands in defense but was surprised when instead of tackling him like the last time, he wrapped his arms around him.

 

“You fucking prick. I should kick your ass.” Church chuckled and hugged Tucker.

 

“Missed you too.” Tucker pulled away.

 

“I don't understand. I thought you deconstructed yourself. Wiped your memories. How are you here?” Church shook his head.

 

“I'm technically Epsilon. I'm a safety protocol.” Tucker looked confused.

 

“A safety protocol? What does that mean?”

 

“When Epsilon destroyed himself to create the fragments, he buried me away in your implant. I'm a few of his memories. His important ones. But I was compromised recently. By one of the fragments.” Church said pointedly, his gaze on Ahsa. She crossed her arms.

 

“Are you implying that I compromised you?” 

 

“Who knows? There are five of you right? Anyone of you could have done it.” 

 

“What did they do exactly?” Tucker asked.

 

“They rifled through my archives and took copies of the Meta memories.” 

 

“The Meta? That sounds bad.” Church nodded. 

 

“Did you have something to do with this Ahsa?” She looked offended and glared at him. 

 

“I know about the Meta, Tucker, and I would never do that to you or the other AI’s. Plus I'm not interested in being real if I'm stuck in your body.” She said dryly. Tucker rolled his eyes.

 

“OK I believe her. But do you know anything about the AI who did this?” Church thought for a moment.

 

“I think they were black or green. I'm not sure though. I wasn't exactly awake when it happened.” 

 

“Black or green? That could be Eis or Urus.” Ahsa said worriedly.

 

“I could see Eis doing some shit like this but not Urus.” Ahsa nodded and snapped her fingers.

 

Eis and Giba popped up out of nowhere and Tucker jumped back a bit. Urus entered through room from the same doorway Church had come through. He was stretching and yawning. 

 

“What? What is going on?” Tucker asked quickly. Ahsa held up a hand to silence him and motioned Urus in front of her.

 

“Listen up, fuckfaces. One of you has some explaining to do.”

 

“Explaining? What the hell is going on?” Eis asked angrily.

 

“Somebody compromised the Alpha-Epsilon safety protocol. And they stole memories. And I want to know which one of you did it.” Giba frowned and hid behind Urus’ leg.

 

“It wasn't me. I didn't do it. I swear. Please don't hurt me Ahsa.” He looked ready to cry and she kneeled down in front of him. She touched his cheek and smiled softly. 

 

“I know, snow pea. I was talking to Urus’ and Eis.” He nodded and tightened his grip on Urus’ leg.

 

“What are you talking about? None of us compromised the A.E.S.P., Ahsa. We don't have a death wish.” Church stepped forward and stared at the fragments.

 

“It's not one of them. They don't have the same energy.” Ahsa threw her hands up in frustration. 

 

“Then who was it?” Tucker put a hand on Ahsa's shoulder and turned her around to face him. 

 

“Ahsa, it's Manna. He's the only one left.” She shook her head.

 

“No...it can't be him. There's no way it’s him.”

 

“He's the only other one. It makes sense.” She frowned and shook her head again.

 

“Oh God, not Manna.”

 

“Where the hell is Manna? Why don't we just find him and erase him?” Church piped up.

 

“He's not here. He's with Carolina.”Church’s face paled and he clenched his jaw.

 

“We need to wake you up.”


	6. Chapter 6

Wash was leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head and he had his eyes closed. He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting next to Tucker’s bed but he knew at least two meals had passed as Caboose had stopped by twice to drop off food for him. He'd hovered both times before Wash assured him he was ok. 

 

He sat forward and looked at Tucker again. He hadn't moved at all since Wash had found him and Emily hadn't given him any answers. He rested his head on his hands and looked at the floor.

 

“Church?” Wash looked up and stared at Tucker. He hadn't moved yet but his mouth was twitching. 

 

“Tucker? Can you hear me?” There was a silence before Tucker started moving his head.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

 

“I don't know how. I think I'm too far in.” Tucker said, clearly frustrated. 

 

He'd been trying for what seemed like years to claw his way out of his mind but he couldn't seem to get his brain and body to cooperate. 

 

“Just clear your mind. Think of nothing but opening your eyes.” Urus said calmly.

 

“I'm clearing my fucking mind.” He closed his eyes again and concentrated. 

 

He felt warm suddenly and he smiled. There was a faint beeping sound and he wondered what it was before his eyes shot open. He sat up and clutched his stomach.

 

“Oh my God, I think I'm gonna hurl!” He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm his stomach. 

 

“Tucker?” He turned his head to look at a shocked Wash. His mouth was open and he was staring at him intensely. 

 

“Wash? Am I in the infirmary?” Wash nodded.

 

“You passed out in the garage. You were unresponsive. Emily didn't know what was wrong with you.” Tucker swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood. 

 

His legs gave out the minute he stood up. He started to fall but Wash caught him and sat him back down on the bed. The beeping from the heart monitor sped up and Tucker cursed himself silently.

 

“Go get Grey. Have her unhook me from the fucking machines. I need to do something.” Wash shook his head.

 

“No fucking way! We don't know what's wrong with you.” Tucker rolled his eyes and peeled the sensors off of his arms and chest.

 

“I know what happened Wash. It was just the new AI waking up. Kinda fucked me up a bit but I'm cool now. Now go get Grey to sign me out. I've got important shit to do.”

 

“You're not going anywhere until I get some answers!” Tucker sighed. 

 

“Something happened with Manna.”

 

"What do you mean?" Wash asked.

"I mean he's evil, dude." Tucker said.

"I don't understand why he would be evil. Epsilon was a jerk but he wasn't evil." 

"No, but he had memories of evil. Memories that Manna stole. He stole memories of Maine, Wash. Specifically the Meta. Which means..." Wash’s eyes widened.

"He's trying to recreate it." Tucker nodded and pulled the IV out of his arm. He moved to remove his hospital gown before looking around the room.

 

“Where are my clothes?” Wash stood and crossed the room to the small crate by the curtain. He pulled out Tucker’s clothes and threw them to him.

 

Tucker stood and wobbled for a second before pulling the gown over his head. He threw it over his shoulder and pulled his pants up. Wash poked his head out the curtain and watched to see if anyone was coming.

 

After he finished dressing, he looked around for his boots. He found them behind Wash’s chair and slipped them on quickly, not bothering with the half-tied laces.

 

“Let's go!” He whispered. He grabbed Wash’s hand and they ran down the hallway until they were out of the infirmary.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

 

They snuck their way across the base to Tucker’s room. Tucker pushed his bed against his door when they were safely inside and opened his closet. Maine’s armor was standing upright in the closet and he quickly disassembled the suit and put the armor on.

 

“Make your armor look like Palomo’s.” Wash said.

 

“What? Why?” Tucker asked snapping his chest plate in place.

 

“Because if you make it aqua, people will know it's you. And we can't let anyone but the reds and blues know you're out of the hospital.”

 

“Why can't people know?” 

 

“Because if Manna asks for you and people say they've seen you, you're screwed. He can't know you're out and about yet. He won't see us coming if he thinks he has to wait until you're awake.” Tucker grinned. 

 

“Good idea. Tell them all to meet us in your room with their armor. But don't invite Carolina. Manna is her little angel and if we said he was evil, she'd kill us. Or he'd use her as the new Meta.” Wash’s face grew ashen and he nodded.

 

“I'll get the others. Meet us in my room at…” Wash looked at Tucker’s wall clock. “2100.” Tucker nodded and put his helmet under his arm

 

“Let's kick some robot ass, babe.” Wash smiled and pressed a chaste kiss on Tucker’s lips before he pulled the bed away from the door and dashed out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's been a couple days since my last update but there was some shit happening in my life and I didn't have time to update. I hopr you enjoy this chapter! Sorry it sucks but as I said, not much time to write lol

Wash burst into Kimball’s office, panting and sweaty. She looked up in surprised and put her pen down. He was gasping for breath and she looked worried.

“Agent Washington? What's going on?”

“Meet in my room at 2100 hours. And don't tell anyone you're coming.” She stammered.

“What is going on, Agent Washington?” He shuffled his feet anxiously and opened her office door.

“It's something bad. So just meet there at 2100. And don't tell anybody. Especially Carolina.” He rushed out of the room leaving her dumbfounded.

“What the hell just happened?” She mumbled.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

Donut screamed when Wash burst into his room, giving him rushed instructions before running out. The ex-freelancer didn't even act like he'd just seen Donut and Doc going at it. 

Sarge was cleaning his shotgun when Wash interrupted him. He'd been annoyed but quickly perked up when Wash said he had a mission. The older man had grinned and quickly reassembled his shotgun before putting on his armor.

Caboose was playing Go Fish with Freckles, or at least trying when he'd been given his instructions. Wash had been confused when he saw the scene on front of him. It was even more strange since the Sim soldier was already wearing his armor.

Grif and Simmons had a similar reaction when he burst in on them. Simmons had screamed and fallen off of his bed, face first onto the floor. He'd hurriedly thrown out the instructions before leaving. Simmons had been left with a bloody nose and a headache. 

“What the fuck was that?” Simmons mumbled, pinching his nose and leaning his head forward.

“I have no idea. But I think we should probably go.”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

When Wash showed up at his room, everybody was already crammed into the room, looking confused and even angry. Tucker wasn't there and he was worried for a moment before the door opened behind him and Tucker strolled in. Everybody looked at him confused before his armor changed from the tan and aqua to straight aqua. 

“Captain Tucker? You're awake?” Kimball asked, clearly confused.

“Yeah. It's a long story. But to make things short, Manna is evil and we have to destroy him.” They all stared at him before Grif snorted.

“Manna? Evil? Yeah fucking right!” 

“I'm being serious. He compromised the A.E.S.P that Church left behind and he stole memories of the Meta.” Simmons’ face paled.

“Oh God. Not the Meta.” The reds and blues looked downtrodden before Wash spoke up. 

“He's with Carolina. If he finds out Tucker is awake, he's going to jump and take him over. So we have to get him to jump somewhere neutral so we can destroy him.” 

“How in Sam hell are we gonna do that?!” Sarge demanded.

“As much as I hate to admit it, Sarge is right. We don't have an EMP and none of know how to shut down or delete an AI.” Simmons piped up. 

“Hate to admit it? What does that mean?” Sarge asked.

“Shut it, old man!” Grif shouted.

“EVERYBODY SHUT UP!” Wash shouted. They all silenced and he gave them a dark stare.

“We're dealing with the fucking Meta again. So I need you to focus and stop arguing for God’s sake!” Caboose raised his hand and Wash pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What is it Caboose?” Tucker asked.

“What is the Y.M.C.A?” 

“Do you mean A.E.S.P?” Tucker said, his eyebrow raised.

“That's what I said.” 

“It's called the Alpha/Epsilon Safety Protocol.” Simmons stepped forward.

“What is that exactly?”

Tucker’s suit buzzed suddenly and a blue light shone from his implant. It didn't take form for several seconds. It twitched and moved around until Church appeared in his familiar blue armor. 

“CHURCH!” Caboose yelled excitedly. 

“Hey Caboose.” Church said softly.

The others looked astonished but Caboose was too busy yammering away. Nobody was paying attention to what he was saying, they were just staring at Church.

“I thought he died?” Sarge asked.

“I am dead. I'm what remains of Epsilon. He stored me in Tucker’s implant. I'm the A.E.S.P.” 

“So you're a fragment of a fragment?” Simmons asked.

“Technically yeah. And I'm not meant to function as an AI either. So we need to get this done and quick. Before Manna takes over or I shut down. So let's stop standing around with our fingers in our asses and get some work done!” They all stared at Church for a moment before Sarge stepped forward.

“It'll be my honor to fight with you again. Even if you are a damn dirty blue.” Church scoffed. 

“Yeah thanks, Sarge.”

“Let's go destroy another fucking AI.” Tucker said half-heartedly.


	8. Chapter 8

Carolina was running training drills when Grif entered the room. She raised an eyebrow at the fact that he was in the training room in the first place but she just brushed it off and shook herself off. Manna was hovering over her shoulder and she could hear him mumbling her statistics.

“Something wrong?” Manna looked up at her and smiled.

“Just calculating how much progress you've made and how much more you'll make.” She nodded.

“Is the news good?” He nodded happily.

“It's very good. You're basically a perfect specimen.” She smiled softly and rolled her eyes.

“Such a flirt.” She turned away and didn't notice his look darken.

“Hey, Carolina?” Grif piped up.

Manna and Carolina both glanced at the man who was sitting down, eating an apple. She rolled her eyes and put her hand on her hip. 

“What?”

“Wanna spar?” She laughed but stopped when she noticed the serious look on his face.

“Are you serious?” He nodded and she glanced at Manna who looked taken aback.

“Why?” Manna asked.

“Dr. Grey gave me some bad news at my last physical. And now I kinda don't want diabetes or to die of heart failure. I'm only 29, dude.” She nodded and waved him over.

“Of course, Grif. I'll go easy on you. We'll start with some warm ups and some light jogging. It'll be easy.” He smiled tightly and stood next to her.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

Simmons, Sarge, and Caboose were standing outside of the training room, weapons ready. Caboose was whispering happily to Church who'd been implanted in his armor. 

Simmons was standing behind Sarge, glad that he couldn't see the look on his face. The older man was watching Grif and Carolina intently and he had his finger barely grazing the trigger on his shotgun.

“You've been in the military for several years and you still haven't learned to not rest your finger on the trigger when we're not attacking?” Simmons whispered angrily. Sarge growled and turned to look at the soldier.

“Simmons, shut yer yap. Or I'll blow it up!” 

“Whatever.” Sarge clenched his fist and turned around completely to look at the Sim soldier. 

“Listen here, asshole. You've been a damn pest for the past two weeks and I'm sick of it! Yer starting to act like Grif! WHY?!” 

“Because he made me realize how badly you treat me!” 

“Why though? Since when does that fatass care about anyone but himself?” Sarge demanded

“Since he fell in love with me!” He hissed back. His voice was dripping with venom and Sarge stepped back.

“So...you finally figured it out. Guess I couldn't protect you forever.” Simmons cocked his head.

“You knew? Was I the only one who didn't?!” Caboose looked over at Simmons.

“Know what?” Sarge looked at the blue soldier.

“That Simmons was in love with Grif.”

“Oh I knew that!” Caboose whispered excitedly. Simmons threw his hand up in frustration. 

“Let's just focus on the mission and stop talking about my love life.”  
"Did I pass the test?" Caboose whispered. \-------------------------------------------------------------

“Has Captain Grif secured the objective yet?” Kimball said into her radio. She could hear Sarge and Simmons bickering and she rolled her eyes. She whistled into her radio and she heard a feedback screech before she heard Sarge curse under his breath.

“Sorry, General.” Simmons responded.

“Has he secured the objective, Captain?” There was a pause.

“Not yet. She's making him stretch. Oh God he looks miserable.” She chuckled.

“Well he's going to have to deal with it. We can't let Manna jump or possess Carolina. No matter what!” She turned to Tucker who was fiddling with his sword.

He'd been pacing for we'll over 10 minutes and Kimball was surprised he hadn't burnt tread marks into the ground yet. She cleared her throat and he stopped to look at her before returning to his pacing. 

“Captain Tucker. You need to calm down.” 

“Don't tell me what to do.” He hissed. She pulled her helmet off and glared at him. 

“You need to calm down. I know you're worried about Carolina and Grif but-” 

“You don't know. If Manna takes over, we're fucked. The last time I fought the Meta, one of my friends was captured and Grif almost died. The only good thing is that Wash is on our side this time.” He switched his sword on and swung it lightly a few times.

“What do you mean?” He shook his head.

“Wash worked with the Meta. Helped it. Almost killed us too. But…” He looked down at his feet and sighed. “He's with us now. He's changed and you don't know how fucking glad I am that he's a good guy now.” 

“Agent Washington? A bad guy? That's hard to picture.” 

“Trust me when I tell you that he's a fucking terrifying bad guy.”

They stood in silence before both of their radios screeched. Tucker winced and Kimball quickly put her helmet back on. There was a horrible scream before they heard Simmons shouting loudly over rapid gunfire.

“GUYS GET HERE NOW! EVERY ONE OF YOU! NOW!” His radio shut off suddenly and Tucker and Kimball didn't hesitate running out of the room.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter after this!

\-------------------------------------------------------------

When Tucker and Kimball burst into the training room, they saw Wash and Carolina engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Her eyes were glowing bright red and she had a dark look on her face. Tucker watched as she sent a flying kick straight to Wash’s head. The freelancer hit the ground hard and stopped moving.

“WASH!” Tucker yelled. Carolina looked up and sneered.

“Tucker? You're awake. Wonderful.” Her eyes flashed again and Tucker stiffened.

“Manna.” 

“Of course it's me. Now let's make this simple. You hand over your body and the other AI’s, and I don't kill Agent Washington.” Manna stepped forward to put Carolina’s foot on Wash’s chest.

“Don't do it, Tucker!” Simmons shouted from across the room. The red soldier was pinned underneath a piece of metal and he had blood pouring out of a wound on his side.

“Shut it!” Manna yelled. Simmons closed his mouth and winced in pain.

“Leave them alone. It's me you want.” Tucker said calmly.

“I didn't think you'd hand yourself over so easily. This is a surprise.” Manna said, suprise in his voice.

“Well you being an evil cocksucker was an even bigger surprise.” Manna’s smirk faded and he pressed harder on Wash’s chest. Tucker winced and dropped his sword.

“Just leave them alone. I'll…” He looked down at his boyfriend who was moving slightly under Carolina’s boot. “I'll let you have the others.”

“Tucker, no!” Simmons shouted.

Manna smirked again and walked away from Wash. He crossed the room to stand inches away from Tucker. The AI placed a hand on Tucker's shoulder and looked into his eyes before Carolina’s body collapsed to the ground.

The reds, Kimball, and Caboose watched him intently as his body shuddered before he pulled his helmet off and looked at his friends who were scattered around the room. His eyes were glowing red and the corner of his mouth turned up.

“Much better. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a Meta to create.” He began walking towards the exit before someone jumped on his back.

He thrust an elbow into their stomach and he heard the air leave their lungs and he turned to see Carolina getting back on her feet. Manna shook his head and kicked her in the gut. She fell again and he crouched next to her.

“How c-could you? I th-thought you were my f-friend.” She gasped out through clenched teeth. Manna reached out to yank her hair and pulled her closer to him. She winced in pain and his face tightened.

“I genuinely wanted you to be the Meta. But, you're too strong mentally. I couldn't risk you fighting my control for too long. It's been fun hanging out these last few weeks though. And I'm sorry.” He stood again and swiftly kicked her in the face, knocking her out cold.

When he stood, he brushed himself off and stretched his neck. Now all he had to do was convince the other AI’s to bind with him. He looked at the reds and blues who were scattered around the room with varying injuries. He scoffed and quickly disappeared into Tucker’s mind.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

Manna was surprised when he entered Tucker's mind. Instead of the familiar laser tag arena, he was standing in Blood Gulch. He could see the reds on their end of the canyon bickering about something. He looked to the other side of the canyon and saw Tucker leaning up against Blue Base. He marched towards him quickly.

“Hey, Manna.” Tucker said nonchalantly.

“What's going on? Where am I? Where are the other AI’s?” Tucker grinned.

“They're with Caboose currently.” 

“Why would you tell me that? I'll just jump.” He turned and stood stock still for a second before frowning. He furrowed his brow and concentrated again. When he didn't jump he looked at Tucker who had a sly smirk on his face.

“What's the matter? Having trouble getting it up?” 

“What did you do to me?” 

“Wanna know the good thing about having nerds on your side? They're tech smart. They engineered my suit to be a sort of capture unit.” Manna looked horrified and shook his head furiously.

“No! NO!” His scream echoed throughout the canyon and he fell to his knees.

Tucker just chuckled softly and crouched next to Manna. The AI looked at him in disgust before looking back at the ground. 

“Why did you do it? That's what I want to know.” Tucker asked. Manna shook his head.

“You wouldn't understand. You don't know what it's like to not be real. To not exist the way you do. I can't eat, drink, sleep, hug, have sex, date, fall in love. I'm not real. And it's fucking awful.” Tucker’s face fell.

“But absorbing the others and taking over my body? Is that really what you want to do?” 

“Of course not. I want my own body. I'm not evil Tucker. And I do care about you and the others. But there's this horrible pain inside me. Like I'm missing something.” 

“Then why the fuck didn't you talk to me? Or Wash? Or Carolina? We were supposed to be your friends. And you betrayed us.” 

Manna’s lip quivered and he burst into tears. He fell into Tucker’s arms and his whole body shook. Tucker just rubbed his back and held him as he cried. 

“I'm sorry.” Manna finally managed to shakily spit out. The agony in his voice was palpable and Tucker suddenly felt guilty.

“I'm not gonna destroy you.” Tucker said, gently. Manna looked up at him and shook his head.

“No, you should do it. I deserve it. I don't deserve to live. I don't want to live.”

“Get up, Manna. We're gonna figure this out. Trust me.”

Manna climbed to his feet and Tucker wrapped an arm around his shoulder. The AI looked at him and gave him a sad smile. There was nothing but pain and regret on his face and Tucker quickly realized how miserable his friend was. 

“I trust you. But how can you trust me?” 

“I just do. Ok?” Manna nodded and Tucker snapped his fingers. They were standing in the middle of the laser tag arena suddenly and Manna looked surprised.

“Where are we going?”

“Back to reality.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally gonna make Manna pure evil but I realied as I was writing that he wasn't "evil", he was troubled and depressed. So I went with that route. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did (or didn't) please leave a comment telling me what you think. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will hopefully only be one or two more chapter after this. I wanted to shove the last three chapters into one long one but I realized it wouldn't work so I'm breaking it up. This is the longest chapter so far. It's about 3000 words. Give or take. Hope you enjoy!

\-------------------------------------------------------------

When Tucker opened his eyes, he was laying on the ground in the training room. His ears were ringing and there was blood in his mouth for some reason. He could hear voices around him and the sounds of people moaning in pain.

He sat up slowly and saw Dr. Grey crouched over Wash, her pen light shining in his eyes. She snapped her fingers and a medic ran over to her.

“Get him to the infirmary immediately. And get DuFresnes. Run some brain scans and monitor him closely.” The medic nodded and he and Grey lifted Wash onto a stretcher. He rushed him out of the room.

“Emily?” Tucker called out. She saw him sitting up and she rushed over. She gently pushed him back to the ground. 

“Stay still, Captain. I need to check your vitals.” She pressed her fingers to his neck and watched her watch before scribbling something down on her notepad. She checked his eyes with her light and nodded.

“You're ok. But I still want to see you in the infirmary later for a checkup.” He nodded and sat up again. He slowly climbed to his feet and stood in the middle of the room and watched his friends get rushed out of the room on stretchers.

He felt a wave of nausea and he covered his mouth. Emily glanced over at him and gave him a worried look. He waved her off and slowly made his way out of the room. The base was abuzz with activity and people were rushing past him in the hallways.

“Captain Tucker!” He turned around to see Kimball marching towards him. She stopped in front of him and he could see how worried she looked.

“Kimball? I'm glad you're ok.” He pulled her in for a hug and her whole body stiffened before she patted his back.

“Um...thank you. Is Manna still trapped in the unit in your suit?” 

“Yeah. Totally.” He said unconvincingly. She squinted suspiciously before nodding.

“Ok, get to the infirmary. We'll figure this out later.” She walked away and he continued towards the infirmary.

When he opened the door to the infirmary he was greeted by the sight of medics rushing around and the sounds of people moaning in pain. He walked down the center of the room, glancing into the small rooms. Donut was in the first room. He was sitting on the edge of the bed with a bandage wrapped around his head, covering his eye. Doc was kneeling in front of him, Donut’s hands in his own. 

Simmons was in the room next to Donut’s, laying in the bed unconscious. He had a breathing tube down his throat and he looked he'd been thrown into a woodchipper. Grif was asleep in the chair next to him, his hand wrapped around Simmons’. He didn't seem to be injured as badly as Simmons’ but his knee was bandaged and he had another bandage over his left cheek.

Sarge wasn't anywhere in the infirmary and Tucker hoped nothing had happened to the crotchety old man. He was kind of a jerk but he was Tucker's friend and he didn't deserve death.

Carolina also had a room but she wasn't in it. He stopped a medic and asked where she was.

“Agent Carolina is in emergency surgery. She had severe internal bleeding. It doesn't look good.” She said gravely. Tucker nodded, feeling numb and the medic scurried off.

The last room was clearly Wash’s. Tucker drew a deep breath and pulled the curtain aside. He covered his mouth in shock and stepped into the room.

Wash’s armor had been taken off and thrown in the corner. His eyes were swollen shut and he had a busted lip. There was a cannula in his nose and an IV in his arm. He also had an ice pack resting on his groin and if it wasn't such a serious situation, Tucker probably would've laughed.

“Oh Wash, what'd he do to you?” Tucker said softly. He grabbed his hand and sat down next to him. 

“I love you, ya know. I was too much of a pussy to say it until now. I'm sorry.”

“So maybe I should get beat up more often. You might say it more.” Wash croaked out weakly. He squeezed Tucker's hand and smiled as best he could with his lip.

“You asshole.” Tucker said, his throat tightening.

“I love you too.” Tucker lifted Wash’s hand and kissed it. The freelancer was breathing shallowly and he reached up to readjust the cannula.

“How're the others?” He asked softly.

“I don't know. I haven't even seen Caboose and Sarge. And Carolina is in surgery.” 

“Surgery? Oh no.” 

“She'll be fine. Calm down.” Wash’s heart monitor beeped faster and Tucker bit his lip.

“What happened to Manna?” Wash asked.

“It's complicated.” Wash frowned and cleared his throat.

“Complicated? That doesn't sound good.” 

“Don't worry, babe. I'll take care of it.” He placed a quick kiss on Wash’s cheek.  
\------------------------------------------------------------

Kimball gave everybody a vague answer to her soldiers about why almost all the reds and blues and freelancers were currently hospitalized. They were obviously not satisfied with her explanation but they knew not to question her. And she forbid any of them from speaking to the reds and blues. 

Naturally, the New Republic was abuzz with gossip. Some theorized that Carolina had gone mad and tried to kill everybody. Some others said it was Tucker.

Others believed that it was the Chorus flu. Dr. Grey assured them that virus was long dead and they didn't need to worry about it. 

“ _That flu drove hundreds of people insane! And this is basically what happened! Why the fuck aren't we vaccinating and why haven't we quarantined them?!_ ” 

Kimball was sure that hearing people say that over and over must have been driving Emily insane. She was half crazy herself with how often people were questioning her. Eventually she had to include Emily and herself in the ban.

It didn't stop medics from whispering their own conspiracies to the others. Kimball had finally had enough of it and threatened imprisonment for anybody that dared to speak about it. The army fell silent after that warning.  
\------------------------------------------------------------

A week had almost passed before Tucker was approached by Kimball about Manna. He'd been sitting by Wash’s bedside, chattering softly when she poked her head in. 

“Captain Tucker? May I speak with you speak with you in my office?” Wash furrowed his brow.

“Is everything alright, General?” She smiled tightly and nodded.

“We just need to go over the details from the “event.” So when you have a free moment, please come see me.” She left and Tucker turned his attention back to Wash.

“Are you gonna go or what?” Wash asked. Tucker shrugged.

“I haven't left this room in almost a week, Wash. And I'm not planning on doing that anytime soon. I'm not ready to see how they look at me.” Wash fumbled blindly for Tucker's hand. He found it and squeezed tightly.

“Getting taken over by Manna was the plan all along, Tucker. They're not gonna be angry.”

“But Manna hurt Carolina. And that definitely wasn't part of the fucking plan! She's in a coma, Wash. A fucking coma!” Wash winced when Tucker raised his voice. 

“She won't be angry either. I promise you she'll understand. She knows it was Manna, not you. Once we explain everything to her, she'll agree. I've known Carolina for most of my life. I know her.” Tucker looked at Wash and sighed.

He wanted nothing more to look into Wash’s eyes and have him tell him that everything was going to get better. But the fluid in his brain was still behind his eyes and they were still swollen shut. Emily had him scheduled for a procedure in the following days that would help drain the fluid and prevent anymore from filling up. 

The rest of him was slowly getting better. The muscle bruise on his groin was healing rapidly and his busted lip had been sealed shut with medical glue and it was just a pink line across his lip. His cracked rib was taped and he was having a much easier time breathing. He only needed the cannula when he was sleeping.

“Why are you so quiet?” Wash asked after a minutes of silence. 

“I'm thinking.” Wash chuckled 

“No offense, but since when do you think before acting?” 

“Don't be an asshole, Wash.”

“Go see Kimball. I'll be fine without you by my side for a couple hours. Plus you need to get some sleep.”

“I've been sleeping fine.” Wash shook his head.

“Sleeping in that chair isn't good for. So go see Kimball, get some food, shower, and sleep.” Tucker sighed and squeezed his hand.

“Fine. I'll be back before dinner though. And you can't stop me.”  
\------------------------------------------------------------

Kimball was sitting at her desk when Tucker entered her office. She looked up from her datapad and raised an eyebrow.

“I didn't think you'd be here so soon.”

“Wash made me.” She nodded and motioned him over.

“We need to talk about Manna. Where is he?” Tucker sighed and whistled.

The small red figure appeared and Kimball jumped up from her seat. Manna had his hands behind his back and he was looking down at the ground. Kimball gave Tucker an angry, shocked look.

“Why the fuck is he in your implant? I thought you said he was in the capture unit!” Tucker was surprised at her outburst but he just shook it off. 

“We can explain.”

“You'd better have a damn good explanation!” Manna looked up and nodded.

“Firstly, I apologize deeply for everything I've done, General. I was not thinking right and I feel the deepest regret for all the trouble is caused. And I've already spoken to Captain Tucker and we've agreed that if you want me to be erased, I won't put up a fight.” Manna said hurriedly. Kimball just listened to him with an angry look on her face and her arms crossed across her chest.

“Why? You almost killed three people and you seriously injured 5 others. Why should I accept your apology? Or not erase you?”

“I don't have a good reason. I can tell you that madness and depression drove me to this. I never wanted to kill anyone or take over the world. I just wanted to be human.” She stared at them both, expressionless before her arms fell and she sighed.

“Emily is going to run a full diagnostic on you and remove the Meta memories. And you'll be on a trial basis. You will only be allowed out of your capture unit for 2 hours a week until Emily and I say so. Do you understand?” He nodded and she turned her look to Tucker.

“And **_you_** ,” She said sternly. “How dare you keep this from me? I'm in charge around here and you do not get to make these decisions unless I say so.” His face paled and she stepped around her desk to stare him dead in the face.

“If you **_ever_** do this again, I'll have you shipped out to the junkyard. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” She glared at him. 

“Yes what?” He swallowed hard.

“Yes, ma’am.” She nodded and turned her back to him. 

“Transfer Manna to the capture unit immediately and take him to Dr. Grey. And take a shower while you're at it. You stink. Now get out of my office.” 

He nodded and rushed quickly out her office. He made it back to his room before Manna reappeared. 

“She's scary.” Tucker nodded.

“Yeah I agree. Sorry about the capture unit though.” Manna smiled and shook his head.

“It'll be fine. I'll get to relive my best memories every day. I hope the reds won't be girls though.” Tucker looked confused. 

“What?” 

“It was an Epsilon iteration. I saw it when I was looking for the Meta memories.” Tucker raised an eyebrow.

“OK then.” 

“Also, I think Epsilon was a little gay.”

“Church was more than a little gay, dude. He was like, 40% gay.”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

After leaving Manna with Emily, Tucker grabbed some food, took a shower, and then returned to the infirmary. He started towards Wash’s room before he realized he hadn't seen the others in a long time. Donut had been released a day after the attack and Grif a few days later. But Carolina, Caboose, Sarge, and Simmons were all still hospitalized.

The room next to Donut’s old room was Simmons’. Tucker pulled the curtain aside and was surprised to see Simmons sitting up in bed, a book in his hands. He looked up at Tucker and smiled softly.

“Hey Tucker.”

“Hey man. How are you?” He walked further into the room and leaned on the small table pushed against the wall.

“Well, I'm better than I was a week ago. The upside to being a cyborg? I don't have to worry about punctured lungs or crushed spleens. But flesh wounds still hurt like hell.” Tucker snorted.

“How's Grif? I know he got a pretty bad beatdown.”

“Yeah, his kneecap was dislocated and the other knee was ripped open pretty badly. He has a hole in his cheek.” Tucker twisted his face and Simmons nodded.

“That sounds nasty.” 

“I'b fine. A hole in by cheek isn't gonna stob me from being a cocky bastard.” Tucker turned to see Grif wheel himself into the room. He still had a bandage on his cheek and his speech was slightly impaired.

“Damn, are you gonna talk like that forever? You sound like a five year old.” Grif glared at him. 

“If by legs worked, I'd kick your ass.” Tucker laughed.

“I'll see you later. I've gotta go see Caboose.” They nodded and Tucker left the small room. He headed further down the hall to the room Caboose had been staying in. 

Caboose sitting cross legged in bed, chatting away to Church/Epsilon who was standing on the bed across from him. He had a bandage wrapped around his head and his arm was in a cast.

“Hey Caboose.” Church looked at Tucker and nodded.

“Caboose was telling me how he kicked Manna’s ass.”

“That is not what I said!” Church laughed.

“How're you doing Caboose?” Tucker asked.

“I'm fine. My arm hurts a lot and I wanna cry but I'm fine.” He said cheerfully. 

“Uh….ok? Church, how are the others?” Church groaned. 

“They're so annoying. You only have one kid. I've got four. Four kids! And they won't stop asking me questions. If I had a body, I'd kill myself.” Tucker snorted.

“They're not too bad.” Ahsa appeared and pursed her lips.

“Church is a bigger dick than you said he was. I'm honestly disappointed.”

“Hey! Fuck you, kid!” She rolled her eyes and looked up at Tucker.

“How are the others?” He shrugged.

“They'll live. Well, jury's still out on Carolina.” 

“I want to see her.” Church said suddenly. Tucker nodded.

“Sure, dude. But she's in a coma. She's not gonna do much talking.” Church sighed.

“She never does.”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

When Tucker entered Carolina’s room, he immediately got chills. There was a single lamp on, casting very little light across the room. She had tubes and wires connected to every part of her body and she looked small and frail in the bed. 

“Oh God.” Church said softly. He appeared next to her and a sad look crossed his face.

“You want some alone time?” Tucker asked softly. Church nodded and Tucker silently left the room.

“Hey kid. You're not looking too hot.” He stood next to her hand and wished that he could reach out and hold it. 

Her heart monitor beeped softly in the background and he sighed shakily. 

“I'm sorry. If I thought this would happen, I would have never fragmented. You'll be fine though. You're too much like your mom. She was a fighter. Well you knew her. Maybe not as Allison but you knew her as Tex. And Tex wasn't a quitter.” He frowned and rested a hand on hers even though he couldn't feel her.

“I love you. And I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when you needed me.”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

Tucker brought Church back to Caboose’s room before he headed to Wash’s. The AI had complained about not wanting to spend another day with Caboose but Tucker just ignored him and told him he needed to see Wash alone. The AI begrudgingly resigned and Tucker left him with the happy, babbling man.

Wash was asleep when Tucker entered his room. He wouldn't have been able to tell from his eyes but he could tell by how deeply he was breathing and how calm his heartbeat was. 

“Tucker?” He turned to see Grey standing in the doorway with a clipboard in her hands.

“Hey, Emily.” She nodded and walked around the bed to gently tap Wash’s shoulder. He stirred in his sleep before yawning. His eyes were able to open slightly and he frowned.

“Dr. Grey? I thought I wasn't supposed to see you again until tomorrow.” She put her clipboard and pulled her helmet off. Her short brown hair tumbled out and she frowned. 

“Agent Washington, I just got the new scan from your x-ray. I'm afraid we're going to have to perform that surgery tonight.”

“Wait, what?!” Tucker asked. She nodded and put her helmet aside.

“The fluid is building up. It's moving from behind his eyes to towards the base of his neck. It's pooling around your spinal cord. If it's not corrected immediately, you could be paralyzed by this time tomorrow.” Wash’s heart monitor started beeping faster and Tucker placed a hand on his.

“Calm down Wash. You'll be fine.” 

“You don't know that. It's brain surgery, Tucker. Brain surgery is extremely dangerous.” Grey nodded.

“Wash has a point. But I have to remind you that I'm a skilled surgeon. You'll be fine. I've never failed a surgery.”

“There's a first for everything.” Wash mumbled.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------


	11. Chapter 11

Tucker was pushed off to the side as Grey prepped Wash for surgery. She had medics crowded in the small room and she was asking him multiple questions about allergies and past brain injuries. Before Tucker knew it, he was sitting outside of a OR that looked like it had been put together by a bunch of seven year olds.

He could hear Emily barking out orders and the sound of medics bustling around the room. He sat on the floor with his arms crossed, his whole body shaking. When he heard the whir of a bonesaw, he covered his ears and hummed softly. 

A few medics came in and out of the room during the surgery but he was surprised to see Doc leave the room after a few hours. 

“Doc?” He looked down at Tucker who was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall.

“Tucker? What are you doing buddy?”

“How's Wash?” He asked, disregarding Doc's question.

“It's going great! Dr. Grey said he's gonna be out and over in recovery within the hour.” Tucker sighed with relief.

“Oh thank God.” Doc patted his shoulder.

“How's Donut?” Tucker asked.

“He's doing great considering he just lost an eye. I'm just glad it was his bad eye.”

“What about Sarge? I haven't seen him in like a week.” Doc frowned.

“He walked away with some cuts and bruises. I haven't seen him since Grey dismissed him from the infirmary.” Tucker nodded and stood up. 

“Let me know when Wash is out. I'm gonna go get something to drink.” Doc nodded and smiled.

“Sure thing, Tucker.”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

Simmons was watching a movie on his datapad when he heard a knock on the wall outside his room. He looked up and frowned.

“Is someone there?” There was a silence before Sarge entered the room.

“Simmons.” He said gruffly. Simmons rolled his eyes and paused his movie.

“Are you here to insult my...Grif.” He said, choosing to say Grif instead of boyfriend. 

“No. I'm here to...apologize.” He said with a grimace.

“You don't apologize.”

“Well I am now. I'm sorry.” Simmons laid his datapad down and cocked an eyebrow.

“Why?” Sarge swallowed hard.

“Because I don't control you anymore. And I can't tell you who to love.”

“You never controlled me. Ever. Understand?” Sarge nodded.

“Why Grif? I mean I would've been fine with anyone else. So why Grif?” Simmons smiled.

“You can't choose who you love.”  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

When Wash woke up, Tucker was sitting next to him, his hand resting on Wash’s knee. His eyes were closed but he wasn't asleep. 

“Tucker.” He said softly. Tucker immediately opened his eyes and sat forward.

“Hey. How do you feel?” Wash grimaced and coughed.

“Like someone drilled a hole in my head.” Tucker chuckled and kissed the back of his hand.

“Well the surgery was a success. Emily said we have to watch out for speech problems and mood swings though.” 

“My speech is kayak.” Tucker's eyes widened and Wash chuckled.

“I'm joking. Calm down.” Tucker smacked his leg lightly and shook his head.

“Don't scare me like that asshole.” Wash smiled.

“You love me. You'll get over it.” 

“How is your vision?” 

“Blurry. But I can see your ugly mug perfectly fine.” Tucker laughed and kissed his hand again.

“I'm gorgeous and you know it.”

“Is there any change with Carolina?” Tucker shook his head.

“She'll be fine though.”

“How do you know?” Tucker leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

“Because we're always fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy guacamole! It's finally finished! I really loved writing this story! And I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. Let me know if you would want an epilogue or something because I'd be down to write one


End file.
